They knew they had to find him and as soon as possible. Ron had been the one to alert the Order of the Phoenix about Harry's disappearance. At first the other Order members dismissed it, saying that Harry probably just wanted some peace and quiet, but Ron and Hermione didn't buy it. It was almost two weeks later when the other Order members began to look for Harry. The small amount of information that Hermione had managed to find on his location was what led them to a some-what large field in America. Of course, Snape had more information since his loyalty to Voldemort had yet to be questioned. He had an idea in which general direction Harry was hidden. When the Order reached the field, Dumbledore split everyone into groups of three. "Severus, you will be paired with Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger. No, not you Charlie. I am speaking of the youngest Mr. Weasley." Ron looked as if he were about to protest, but Severus stopped him. "Mr. Weasley, it is for the best. I do not like this arrangement either, but we must put aside our differences so that we can find Mr. Potter." Ron looked at Severus, shocked that he hadn't replied with a snarky comment. "Fine, but just know I am not happy with this at all." Severus nodded, but didn't reply. Dumbledore paired the rest of the Order together. "Alright, everyone in their groups? Great! Spread out and start searching. Minerva and I will stay here in case Harry shows up." With that, the groups spread out and started searching. Severus led Ron and Hermione away from the field and towards the forest that lay on the northern side of the field. He stopped a few yards before entering the forest. "I am about to reveal something to you that no one except Albus and Poppy know. I suppose you know that there's a group working against the Dark Lord that is known as the Order of the Phoenix. What you do not know is that most of the Order believes there is a spy amongst their ranks. They do not know the identity of this spy. It is true, but the spy is not a true follower of the Dark Lord. At least, not any more." Severus paused, letting the information sink into the Gryffindors' minds. "The spy works for Albus, but is thought to be a spy for the Dark Lord. They are able to get close enough to him without arousing suspicion." At this Hermione gasped. Severus raised an eyebrow at her reaction. "Sir, the only one who could possibly get that close would be..." Hermione stopped, her eyes widening as she looked at her professor. "Yes, Miss Granger, I am the Order's spy and have been since...Lily and James were killed." Ron looked at Severus. "But...why?" Ron asked as Severus sighed. "It was not because James and I were friends. He and the other Marauders, as they called themselves, made my life hell while we were at Hogwarts. It was because of Lily. We were friends before we went to Hogwarts. She actually disliked James at first." Severus paused again. "You loved her, didn't you Professor?" Hermione asked, causing Ron to turn to her. "Yes, but I ended up ruining it when I called her a...Mudblood. It was said in anger, but the damage was done. I tried to apologize, but it was too late." Severus turned towards the forest. "I have an idea as to where Mr. Potter is, but there will be other Death Eaters present. You will be acting as if you were my prisoners. You will see me act differently, worse than at Hogwarts, but you must trust me. No matter what you see or hear, do not try anything. Do you understand?" Ron and Hermione nodded as Severus held out his hand. "Hand me your wands, quickly. We do not have much time." Hermione didn't hesitate in handing the Potions Master her wand. Ron only hesitated briefly before handing his wand over. "Once we are in the forest, do not say anything. Better yet..." Severus cast a silencing charm over Ron and Hermione. The trio entered the forest after Severus conjured ropes to tie Ron and Hermione's hands together. They travelled through the forest for what seemed hours, but was only minutes. Severus stopped when they came to an old, run-down cabin. Two Death Eaters appeared in front of them suddenly. "Severus! The Dark Lord was not expecting you so soon. And you brought gifts. What a surprise!" Hermione's eyes got wide as she recognized the voice of the taller Death Eater. "Yes, well I had not expected to be forced to search for Potter with his friends either. I decided to bring them to the Dark Lord since one is a blood traitor and the other is a mudblood." Severus replied calmly as if speaking to an old friend and not an enemy. Ron's eyes widened as he glanced at Hermione. Lucius Malfoy laughed at Ron and Hermione's expressions. He and the shorter Death Eater stepped aside to allow Severus and his two prisoners into the cabin. As they entered the cabin, the two Gryffindors were shocked. What they had thought was an old, shabby, run-down cabin, was actually a large, grand, well-furnished manor. Severus did not pause to wait for the two-thirds of the Golden Trio. He continued into the manor, going up the stairs and through endless corridors until thy reached a pair of doors. Severus then knocked loudly, four knocks, each of them evenly spaced. "Enter," a raspy snake-like voice called. Severus entered, kneeling once he reached the center of the room. Ron and Hermione were shoved into the room by a being behind them. They were forced to kneel behind Severus. "Ah, Severus! I was not expecting to see you so soon. I see that you have brought two others with you. Why?" Severus didn't look up as he replied. "Dumbledore knows that Potter is missing and has sent out three member search parties. These two were paired with me, my Lord. Since they are Potter's friends I decided to bring them to you in case you could find them valuable, my Lord." Hermione and Ron heard a slithering sound. Hermione glanced to her left and saw a giant snake slithering by. "You may stand, Severus. Ah, look! Nagini has come to visit excellent!" Ron looked at the snake and went extremely pale and started to shake badly. "Oh my, is the blood traitor scared of a snake?" Hermione glared at Lucius Malfoy as he walked up to Severus and kneeled. "What is it, Lucius?" Voldemort asked from the left of Hermione. She fought the urge to turn and face him defiantly. "Bellatrix has finally broken the boy, my Lord. He has finally lost his will to live." Ron started struggling, his mouth moving as if he were talking, but nothing was heard. Hermione's face fell as she realized that they might not be able to save Harry if he had lost the will to live. "That is good news..." Suddenly shouts could be heard out in the corridor. The library doors were thrown open to reveal Albus Dumbledore and Sirius Black. "What is going on? How did you find me Albus?" Voldemort asked glaring at Dumbledore. Dumbledore didn't reply as he wave his hand. Ron and Hermione suddenly found themselves able to move and speak. Hermione saw Lucius move to grab his wand out of the corner of her eye. She knew he had to be stopped. She made a quick decision and threw herself at Lucius, knocking them both to the ground. Ron stepped forward as if to help, but Severus shook his head. Instead, he stepped forward, pushing Ron towards Sirius. "Black, get Mr. Weasley out of here. Albus, find Potter. He's in danger." Albus nodded to Severus before going off to find Harry. Severus turned to face Voldemort. "Severus, you are the spy?" Severus smirked at Voldemort as he looked unbelieving at one of his most trusted Death Eaters. "Yes and I have been for almost twenty years. Since you threatened the Potters." Severus smirked before Voldemort and himself started to duel. They dodged spells while casting others. Meanwhile, Hermione had managed to get Lucius Malfoy's wand away from him and knocked him unconscious. As she stood, Voldemort cast the Cruciatus curse. Severus dodged the spell, but before he could warn her, the spell hit Hermione. She fell to the floor, seizing and screaming from the pain the spell caused. Voldemort continued to hold the spell, pure joy on his face. Severus took advantage of the distraction that Hermione provided. He took the opportunity and cast the killing curse. It killed Voldemort instantly. Severus turned around as Voldemort fell to the ground to face Hermione. She had lost consciousness, but was still convulsing due to the after-effects of the curse. Without wasting a moment, Severus picked Hermione up and carried her out of the manor and towards the field where the rest of the Order was waiting. As Severus walked into view, Ron ran towards them. "Is she alright?" he asked, the worry obvious on his face. "She was hit with the Cruciatus curse. It was longer than what even I have been hit with. I believe once we get her to Poppy, she will be fine." Severus said, not slowing his quick stride. "What happened to Voldemort..." As Ron spoke, a sharp burning pain spread through Severus' body, the central point being his Dark Mark. Severus stumbled, struggling to not drop Hermione. "Professor? Are you alright?" Ron asked as another wave of pain washed over the Potions Master. "Take Miss Granger to Albus and tell him that she needs to be seen by...Poppy." This time when the pain hit, it drove Severus to his knees, grunting to keep back the screams. "Just hold on Professor, I'll be back with help!" Ron said, lifting Hermione into his arms and running for help. After what seemed like an eternity and an endless amount of pain which forced Severus onto his hands and knees, he heard voices and running footsteps. "Severus? What can I do?" Snape heard, his sight becoming more blurred with each passing moment. Severus tried to speak, but couldn't find the strength to do so. "Harry, you don't need to strain yourself. You need rest!" Severus heard the familiar first voice say and didn't hear anything in response. Severus managed to find enough strength to turn his head from his position of lying on his stomach. He saw green eyes he believed that he would never see again. "Lily..." The name slipped past Severus' lips before darkness overtook his consciousness.

Hello fellow readers! This was an idea that was floating around in my head and would not leave.This takes place during the end of Harry's 6th year. It is AU, so I changed things that I wished hadn't happened (previously and onwards), but sadly I don't own any of the HP characters. Though if J.K. Rowling would like to give them to me, that would be great! Hopefully, when they are returned, they won't be too damaged. Enjoy!